APPLY NOW!

  DATE: Monday, August 3- Thursday, August 6, 2015

LOCATION: Fordham College- Lincoln Center Campus and the Museum of Jewish Heritage

“Every teacher who participates in this program, I am confident, will bring back to his/her school a wealth of insight and will, as well, be ready to help deepen the friendship that continues to grow between Catholics and Jews everywhere, one that has been particularly radiant here in the archdiocese for years.”

                                                     –Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York

WHAT IS IT?

ADL’s award-winning Bearing Witness™ Institute is a unique 4 day intensive professional development workshop for Catholic school educators at the secondary level.

Through Bearing Witness, participants explore the history of anti-Semitism, from biblical times to modern day, as well as Catholic teachings about Jews and Judaism. Bearing Witness also educates Catholic school teachers about the vibrant history and culture of the Jewish people and is designed with the following goals in mind:

  • To examine some of the more sensitive, complex and painful issues in Jewish experience, Catholic-Jewish relations and modern history.
  • To consider sensitive topics such as anti-Semitism, the role of the Church in the Holocaust and current expressions of hatred towards Jews and Judaism
  • To provide Catholic school educators with strategies and resources necessary to implement and teach their students about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism.
  • To foster a partnership, a sense of understanding, and a connectedness between the Jewish and Catholic communities that had previously not been known.
  • To appreciate the connectedness between the Jewish people and the land of Israel and to understand the land of Israel.

The Bearing Witness™ Program was recognized by NCEA as a 2000 SPICE program (Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education). The New York Regional Institute is open to teachers from New York State, Connecticut, and northern New Jersey and is undertaken in partnership with the New York archdiocese and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Funding for this program is provided by Erwin and Sandra Pearl.

 

CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY

Catholic school educators of Religion, Theology, Social Studies and English at the middle and high school level as well as those involved in Parish Faith Formation and Youth Ministry are encouraged to apply to Bearing Witness™.  Teachers of other subject areas will be considered but must demonstrate how they will integrate the material covered into the content of their courses.

No prior experience teaching about the Holocaust or anti-Semitism is required.

Participants are expected to:

    • Attend the entire four-day conference Monday, August 3 through Thursday, August 6, 2015.

COST

Conference costs are minimal. Participants are expected to cover their own local transportation to conference sites in New York City.

Upon acceptance to the program, the $50.00 registration fee can be paid by check made out to the Anti-Defamation League. Checks can be mailed to Sara Aharon at the Anti-Defamation League, 605 Third Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10158 or simply delivered on-site during the conference’s first day: Monday August 3, 2015.